Tag: #liveoutloud

Often times in our journey whether it is the journey of fitness, journey of career or just overall journey of LIFE we count ourselves out before we even begin. We begin to second guess ourselves prior to even accomplishing that goal, dream, task or vision. We begin to create this assumption of what others may think or the assumption that we will not be great, we will not succeed. However, when we truly tap into our self worth, self confidence our inner strength we begin to walk with Boldness in everything we do. We begin to walk with our heads held high realizing that no matter what may come of any situation that we have the courage and the strength knowing that we at least SHOWED UP, we at least believed in ourselves to do the impossible, we are doing the impossible, knowing that despite it all we are being who we are created to be and that is being a bold, powerful, authentic self. So despite what others may think or say continue to walk in boldness, continue to show up each and everyday in your beautiful authentic self. Why? Because when we decided to walk in that manner we become bolder, we do the impossible, we tap into our inner self, we tap into our GREATNESS, we begin to show our true STRENGTH in SELF.

I was that person a long time ago where I developed the goal of exercising so that I could lose weight I wanted to be a certain size, I wanted to look a certain way but then exercise became more to me than that. I had to determine some key things in order to stick with exercise, to stay exercising. I had to look at exercise in a different way in order to exercise 4 success. I had to:

Determine “MY WHY”

When you find your WHY it helps keep you motivated, it helps keep you determined and focused. Why is that? because when I suffered an injury or when life just happened I had to go back and figure out why was I exercising, why did I want to lose weight, why did I want to complete a marathon. Then I realized that I was doing all of this because I wanted to feel better, I wanted to be healthy, I wanted to be able to enjoy life with my kids. So once I realized my WHY the days that I wasn’t motivated, the days I didn’t want to do the exercise I remembered my WHY. I remembered why I was doing all the things that I was doing. So you figure out your Why….What’s next?

Create a PLAN

I am constantly telling my clients and patients that without visual, written things we don’t see it. Out of sight, out of mind. When we take time out to truly write out our goals and plan then we are more apt to fulfill those things. So plan out what you are wanting to accomplish, how will you accomplish it, what will it look like, what is your schedule like.

Start from where you ARE

The biggest problem when tend to make is we look at what others are doing and we try to start where they are. We start too fast and we fail and then we give up. If you have never ran a day in your life then start by walking consistently and then build up from there. We can’t run before we walk, we can’t walk before we crawl. That’s just saying that you will get there but you must first start from where you are.

Take Small Steps

In starting from where you are realize that in order to get to that goal, dream or vision you must take small steps. Change doesn’t occur overnight, we didn’t get the way we are overnight it took time. So realize that this journey will take time it will not happen overnight. You must take small steps. It’s the small steps that lead to the Big Change. It’s not the big leaps that we make in our life that makes the difference it’s the small minute changes and steps that we make in our lives that lead to the big difference, big change.

Develop a Routine and a HABIT

So it’s great to create a plan but what is a plan if you don’t act on it or you don’t create that habitual routine. Habits are developed from doing a consistent routine. Things become habitual when we are constantly doing the same things in a certain routine or form. So in order to incorporate exercise into your daily activity you must create a routine that includes exercise in it.

Learn that It’s Not a DESTINATION its a JOURNEY

You must understand that living a healthy lifestyle in particularly exercising is not a destination its a journey. When we think about destination and we are trying to get to a destination. We drive from point A to point B and we get to our destination. Well once we are at our destination we either stay there for a little while or we go and then come back to our original point. With healthy lifestyle and exercising we have to realize that this is not just about getting to a destination we are striving to continue this lifelong journey. This journey of a healthy lifestyle, journey of being free from disease, journey of wanting to enjoy the one life we have without fear of not being able to enjoy it.

So ask me why do I exercise?

I exercise 4 success

I exercise because I am on this lifelong journey of healthy living

I exercise because I feel free to be

I exercise because I feel great after I exercise

I exercise so that I can be the best mother that I can be for my girls

I truly have learned what it means to Start Over…To begin again. I remember thinking awhile back that it was so hard to start over, so hard to begin again. I have realized that it’s okay to begin again. We actually begin again each day we wake up. Each day we start a brand new day it is our opportunity to begin again. Often times we want to seclude ourselves to what occurred yesterday, last week, last month or even last year. I have learned that in order to grow to move forward in life we have to begin again. We have to learn how to start over.

Last year alone I have learned how to raise two girls on my own, start a new job, restart a training/running plan. I realized on my run the other day that I am stronger, wiser, brighter, felt brand new. It was all because I decided that it was time to change up how I was doing things, take time out to gain knowledge on areas that I needed to work on, it was time to start over again, to start fresh. I took time off away from personal social media, from scrolling and seeing what everyone else was doing in the world. I needed to focus on me, focus on the life that I want to create. Often times to get out of the rut that we feel like we are in we have to start fresh, we have to begin again. I have constantly said that sometimes you have to have meltdowns to have your breakthrough. So don’t sit in the past, don’t dwell in what happened years ago, don’t dwell in what you could have done, what you should have done, what you did in the past; start fresh today, begin again today!!!

How many times have you said that you couldn’t do something or that you were not good enough to do it? This happen to me the other day when I was at Crossfit and getting ready to do another workout. I knew what the weight was going to be prior to doing workout but kept second guessing myself of it I could pull it off. If I could lift that amount of weight. See we do this to ourselves a lot and don’t even realize it we tell ourselves in our head that you know you can’t do that lift or you know you can’t complete that race in that amount of time. We begin to compare ourselves to others performance and to others abilities. And never think about what they did to get there or how hard they had to work in order to get to where they are. See one thing that I have learned in both my fitness experience and also in my life is that You can do anything that you put your mind to but first you must believe that you can do it. Then you have to make preparations to complete that goal. Now will you have to work harder than the other person? Maybe. Will you have to think outside the box in order to accomplish that goal and complete those action steps? Maybe. Will you have to plan out and prepare more in detailed than the other person? Maybe. So just because you may have to approach that goal different than someone else doesn’t mean that you can’t accomplish it just means that you have to think outside the box, prepare and then act. So stop selling yourself of goals that you want to achieve because you feel like you are not good enough to achieve. Start believing in yourself, start saying YES I CAN, YES I WILL. Start having the faith that with GOD all things all possible if we only believe. So who is with me? Who’s ready to accomplish those goals that seem so scary? Who is tired of selling themselves short? I know I am…..So join in with me and let’s show the world who we are and who we are capable of becoming…Let’s GO!!!

It’s crazy as I was having this conversation today with my daughter about what is beautiful to them? What does it mean to be beautiful? She was talking about some girls who were looking at her a certain way and she felt like they were talking about her. So I said did they say anything bad to you? She said No. So I said well how did you know they were talking bad about you? She said, “I don’t know?” So I thing began to say to her they may have been admiring you, saying how beautiful you are, or saying wow would love to hang out with that girl. As a society we have created this image of what everyone should look like. What beautiful is and what it looks like. We have done the same thing with being Fit. We have created this image of what FIT looks like. But really what does it mean to look fit? Everyone has this common image in their head of what being FIT looks like. We compare ourselves to models and other images that social media has placed on us of what being FIT should look like.

I use to have the same image in my head of if I lose at least 20 more lbs then I will finally be FIT or look FIT. As I continued to work out and continued to fluctuate in weight I realized that I was chasing a destination an image and not a way of living.

When I began this fitness journey I expected to look a certain way but as I continued to follow along with the journey I realized that fitness is not just physical. Fitness is a way of living, its creating a lifestyle that is healthy both physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally. When I began cross training more and really lifting weights I noticed my body was changing. I wasn’t skinny like I use to be, I was becoming as they would say “thick.” In my head I kept saying, “Fe you need to lose weight, you need to be in this size” Then I realized as I was putting my clothes on one day that my pants size was actually smaller than the size I was in before. I realize, “Fe you are healthy, you are strong now.” That is when it dawned on me that FIT doesn’t mean you are suppose to be certain size, it means that you are free of disease, you are healthy in both mind, body and spirit. I also began to realize the more that I focused on creating a healthy lifestyle for myself and my girls the more I became FIT.

Often times we get in the hustle and bustle of life and oddly enough my meditation today was all about stretching. At first I see these words and naturally think of stretching when you are trying to release a tight muscle or stretching because you don’t want to have any cramps or tightness in your body.

But this is a different type of stretching but holds the same meaning. When we stretch our bodies or a muscle we are stretching to help release tension and we are holding that pose for an extending period of time. Often times after holding a stretch we feel a sense of relief, we feel like a new person, simply a new feeling.

Well the kind of stretching I am referring to is different. This type of stretching deals with the moments in our lives. As a society we have this on the go type feeling where we are always at a need to move, to go. But what if we stop for one moment and just stretched out the present moment, we live in the present state as long as we possibly can.

What would happen?

I’ll tell you what would happen we would experience things like no other, we would notice the beauty in that moment, it will allow us to cherish that moment. We would find peace and a sense of relief within that moment.

Why?

Because we are stretching out that moment, we are truly learning and embracing the present moment. This is the type of stretching that we need to do with our lives each and everyday. Take time out each day to release the habit of always on the go but get into the habit of embracing each present moment.

Stretching out each present moment so that we can experience it fully, 100%. So the next time your mind is wanting to go so many miles per minute. Take a second and just stretch out the present moment. See what you see, feel what you feel, embrace everything that moment has to offer. Just as stretching will help release tension in your body physically it can do the same thing mentally. Mentally it can help relieve tension in your mind and allow you to truly wholeheartedly enjoy the moment. So I invite you to not only stretch physically but let’s practice stretching mentally.

So most of you who know me or follow me on Social Media know that I love meditation and YOGA. Well oddly enough over the past year I have been back and forth with my yoga practice and not consistent like I should be and this has caused me to lose focus, sight towards my goals and towards life itself.

Some of you may be saying so not practicing YOGA made you lose all of that?

Yoga for me is not about just the physical practice but the mental and spiritual practice. Yoga is about taking your body through various poses, breathing through those poses, expanding yourself, growing, powering your way into new opportunities. Well that pretty much describes life too. Going through ups and downs but it is through that journey that we grow into new opportunities and into a new POWER that lies within us.

Physical Practice

I look at this through life itself. There will be times where life will seem and feel tough, physically draining and it will require you to use strength to battle your way through those tough times and you will want to quit, you will want to get out of that position, that pose, that time in your life. It will require inner strength and physical strength to get you through.

Mental and Spiritual Practice

So when I first heard of meditation I was like ummmm yeah I can’t sit here for this amount of time being still and not doing anything. I had to train myself to be still. I soon learn that as I was practicing meditation it was helping with not only to sit still for a certain amount of time but it was teaching me how to breathe through yoga poses, how to breathe through life situations. It help me learn that sometimes you simply have to just BE STILL and breathe through certain situations. The more I began to be still and simply breathe the easier the pose or the craziness of my life became.

31 Days of YOGA

So follow me on this journey of Starting my New Year OFF with Intentions…No I am not big on resolutions this is a journey to help begin my year off with Intentions, Clear Mind, Focus, Determination, Drive and Perseverance to tackle whatever may come my way in 2018….

What will my 31 days look like:

I have devoted to:

Practicing 3 days (minimum) at a Yoga One (with option of trying out a new yoga studio)

So it’s that time of year again where everyone begins to tackle that very thing that they keep or have struggled with in the past. They began to make their New Year Resolution….most common one being “to lose weight”. The gyms are preparing to be packed, the studios in preparation of classes being filled with individuals who have set out to make that New Year Resolution. And then it happens……30 days later, 60 days later, 90 days later the hopes of achieving that New Year Resolution begins to fade away. People get the feeling of lost hope, or they just quit. They start to doubt themselves and feel as if they have failed themselves. Why? because of the notion that if you don’t achieve that New Year Resolution you have lost the battle, lost the fight.

I say NO to the New Year Resolution and say YES to intentions. Intentions are things that you create to help better yourself as an individual, as a person.

What does that look like?

I set the intentions each and everyday to be a better version of myself. Do I relapse some days or have some bad days? Heck Yeah, but guess what? I start all over again the next day. Everyday is a new day to begin again. It is a new day to start over. When you set intentions on becoming better each day you are giving your self a cushion to fall to fail but yet also a chance to learn from the mistakes, the falls and mishaps. Socrates says it best, “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old but on building the new. So stop trying to fight the old with New Year Resolutions but let’s set the intentions on building the new. How do you do this? by striving each and everyday to become a healthier you, better version of you.

So it’s that time of the year where everyone is planning of the new year. We are getting that planner out we are setting our fitness goals for next year. We already have a big scheme and ideas of what days we are going to work out, what days we are going to work on what, the challenges that we are going to participate in. We are pumped and ready to change for 2018.

So let me ask you a question….

What about now?

What are you waiting on?

Why do we have to prepare for the new year?

Who says that we have to wait until 2018 to start fresh, to start brand new. Why not start now? This is the question that I was even asking myself as it related to not only fitness but other areas of my life. I said to myself Felicia why do you have to wait until the new year to begin again. Each and everyday we wake up is a brand new opportunity to begin again. It is an opportunity to start over to create goals for ourselves. We are our biggest hindrance of our goals, we are what stops us from achieving our goals.

Why?

Because we feel as if we have to start at a certain time, we feel like our situation have to look a certain way. We are waiting on that perfect time, perfect opportunity to begin again, to start over. So what if your life is a mess right now, So what if you feel like you don’t have it all together. This is the perfect time to begin again, this is the perfect time to create a better version of you….So stop waiting on that miraculous new year…Today is your Day…Lace up…Show up for YOU..You deserve it…You deserve to be a better version of YOU…So I ask again What are you waiting for?

Often times in our journey of life we feel like we need to be at a certain area in our lives before we can begin. I’m bad at this you see I was an perfectionist so before beginning anything I always felt the need that I had to be in a perfect place, perfect situation, perfect time in my life. What I’ve learn through my healthy journey is that it is not about being at a certain fitness level before beginning, it was about starting where I was. When I finally decided that then that’s when my hard, rough, challenging days were some of my best days. Its when I developed consistency, its, when I began to grow, when I began to soar from where I was that I began to blossomed, I began to truly see the fruits of my labor. So don’t wait till the perfect time; like Arthur Ashe states, “Start where you are today, Use what you have. Do what you can today.